The Market Lifts China New Holdings Limited (HKG:8125) Shares 36% But It Can Do More

China New Holdings Limited (HKG:8125) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 36% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Longer-term shareholders would be thankful for the recovery in the share price since it's now virtually flat for the year after the recent bounce.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about China New Holdings' P/S ratio of 0.4x, since the median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio for the Professional Services industry in Hong Kong is also close to 0.8x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

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What Does China New Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

With revenue growth that's exceedingly strong of late, China New Holdings has been doing very well. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to wane, which has kept the share price, and thus the P/S ratio, from rising. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

China New Holdings' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 115% gain to the company's top line. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 278% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Comparing that recent medium-term revenue trajectory with the industry's one-year growth forecast of 12% shows it's noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we find it interesting that China New Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance is at its limits and have been accepting lower selling prices.

The Bottom Line On China New Holdings' P/S

China New Holdings appears to be back in favour with a solid price jump bringing its P/S back in line with other companies in the industry Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

To our surprise, China New Holdings revealed its three-year revenue trends aren't contributing to its P/S as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current industry expectations. When we see strong revenue with faster-than-industry growth, we can only assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/S ratio. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued if recent medium-term revenue trends continue, but investors seem to think future revenue could see some volatility.

Plus, you should also learn about these 4 warning signs we've spotted with China New Holdings.

If you're unsure about the strength of China New Holdings' business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.